Texting possible factor in Highway 99 crash

A Manteca woman who might have been reading a text message on her cell phone while driving on Highway 99 died in a solo vehicle wreck in Ripon on Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

About 12:30 p.m., the 39-year-old woman, who was not identified by the CHP, was driving south on Highway 99 through Ripon at speeds of 55 to 65 mph. For unknown reasons, she made an abrupt right turn from the highway to the Jack Tone Road offramp.

She veered across the offramp, then overcorrected to the left, slid across the west dirt shoulder and overturned.

The woman was ejected from her car and suffered severe head injuries. She was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, where she was pronounced dead.